Towards compact laser-driven accelerators: exploring the potential of advanced double-layer targets

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Growing demand for compact, cost-effective accelerators in diverse fields like medicine, agriculture, and environmental analysis.
• Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) requires MeV-energy ions for non-destructive material characterization, particularly in environmental monitoring.
• Superintense laser-driven ion sources offer a promising alternative to traditional accelerators, with target optimization crucial for enhanced ion properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore advanced double-layer targets (DLTs) for laser-driven particle acceleration.
• To assess the potential of DLTs for producing MeV-energy ions using compact laser systems.
• To evaluate the application of DLT-based laser-driven ion sources for PIXE analysis of aerosol samples.

Main Methods:

• Production of advanced DLTs using deposition techniques.
• Particle-in-cell simulations to assess laser-driven ion acceleration potential with DLTs.
• Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate PIXE analysis of aerosol samples using DLT-generated ions.

Main Results:

• Optimized DLTs, when coupled with a ~20 TW compact laser, successfully accelerate MeV protons.
• Simulations indicate that DLT-based laser-driven ion acceleration can achieve PIXE performance comparable to conventional sources.
• Advanced DLTs enhance laser-target coupling, improving ion current and energy while reducing laser system requirements.

Conclusions:

• Compact DLT-based laser-driven accelerators are a viable technology for environmental monitoring applications.
• DLTs represent a significant advancement in target design for laser-driven particle acceleration.
• This technology offers a cost-effective and versatile solution for material characterization using PIXE.